UConn and UCLA set up a battle of bluebloods in Philadelphia in NCAA Tournament’s second round

An unexpected thing happened when Connecticut took the floor late Friday night: it was greeted with a storm of boos.

Then another unexpected thing happened midway through the first half: No. 15 seed Furman took a 19-18 lead on the No. 2 Huskies.

What had gotten into the side that was not just the favorite, but expected to cruise?

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For one thing, a bout of bad three-point shooting — and it lasted the entire half. At intermission, the Huskies were just 1-for-13 from beyond the arc, a big reason why their lead was 40-36 and not more.

“We were getting great threes — I mean, it was stunning, just the opportunities that we’re getting,” UConn coach Dan Hurley said at the end of the night, when his team had shown it had really just suffered a bout of March. “I think it was a little bit frustrating.”

It also frustrated him that Furman hung around through the second half, though it delighted the crowd that stayed late for the 10:30 p.m. tipoff. But UConn’s size was simply too much to handle, and the Huskies pulled away at the end for an 82-71 win.

Tarris Reed, Jr. led the way with an extraordinary stat line: 31 points on 12-of-15 field goal shooting, all from two-point range; and 27 rebounds, including 11 at the offensive end. The 6-foot-11 senior piled up 19 of the points and 16 of the rebounds in the first half, including one board he seized in the lane while missing a shoe.

“My mindset coming to the game was really just be dominant, knowing that this is my last March Madness,” Reed said. “My days are numbered in college basketball. So really just going out and giving it all I’ve got, and having fun with the guys around me.”

He was joined in the second half by Alex Karaban, who scored 15 of his 22 points in the period. The longtime force for the Huskies finished the game with two minutes to go, hitting a three after UConn pulled down three straight offensive rebounds and took almost a minute off the clock.

UConn will play No. 7 UCLA on Sunday at 8:45 p.m., with the winner going on to Washington for the East regional semifinals.

“Obviously, I think we’re due for a big shooting night,” Hurley deadpanned.

No. 3 Virginia vs. No. 6 Tennessee will go before then, at 6:10 p.m. That winner will go to Chicago for the Midwest regional semifinals.

TNT will televise both games, with Andrew Catalon, Steve Lappas and Evan Washburn on the call.

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Central Florida coach Johnny Dawkins got a nice cheer from the crowd when the former 76er was introduced as the Knights’ head coach. But No. 7 seed UCLA controlled most of the rest of Friday evening’s opener, then held on late for a 75-71 win.

The Bruins had a handle on things from the midpoint of the first half on, and led 35-27 at halftime. Eric Dailey Jr. had 12 points, including a highlight-reel dunk, while UCLA’s defense held the No. 10 Knights’ leading scorers Themus Fulks and Riley Kugel to 4-for-11 shooting combined.

Central Florida rallied, closing UCLA’s lead to 46-43 with 14 minutes to go on a three-pointer by Devan Cambridge — a player remarkably in his seventh season of college basketball, between a COVID-19 extension and medical waivers for injuries over two seasons at Texas Tech.

The Bruins retook control after that with an 8-0 run. The margin never got less than seven until just over a minute remained, when suddenly it was down to six.

UCLA still looked to be in control, but couldn’t quite seal it. When Knights forward Jordan Burks hit a three from the corner off an inbounds play with 10.6 seconds to go to make it 72-69, the crowd erupted.

Trent Perry and Skyy Clark made sure there would be no upset, though, hitting three of their four free throws in the last 10 seconds.

“At the end of the day, just be confident,” Perry said. “Trust in the work, trust in the process. It’s something I have been doing for a living, so never lost confidence in that.”

The game was decided from the opposite line, too: Central Florida was a shocking 5-of-16. Knights big man John Bol was 0-for-5 from the line, and anyone watching could see it’s not the 7-foot-2 sophomore’s forte. But that didn’t excuse his teammates going 5-for-11.

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Burks led all scorers with 22 points. Dailey had 20 for UCLA, while Perry and Xavier Booker had 15 each.

“They fired in some tough shots, especially Burks, late,” UCLA coach Mick Cronin said. “Crazy stuff happens in March.”